As the counting of votes continues for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, early trends showed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Mandi, Kangana Ranaut leading.

She is up against Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh, the son of former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

Film actor Kangana Ranaut has made her electoral debut from the Mandi constituency. She hails from the place and is therefore hoping to cash in on local support. Early trends showed her leading from the seat.

The Mandi seat was won by the BJP’s Ram Swaroop Sharma in both 2014 and 2019. While he polled a vote share of 49.97% in 2015, he got 68.75% votes in 2019. However he died on March 17, 2021 and the by-elections in the constituency led to the Congress winning the seat. The Congress candidate was former CM Virbhadra Singh’s wife, Pratibha Singh.

Ranaut had been vocal about her support for the BJP and PM Narendra Modi for years. However it was only this year that she managed a BJP ticket after she officially joined the party earlier this year.